How to Go On Safari For Under $300 A Day

A luxury African Safari can cost $2,500 per night, per person. We tell you how to plan one on a budget of less than $200 per day.

An African safari is on many traveler bucket lists, but the cost can be prohibitive for many. Top of the line lodges and camps like Little Mombo, in Botswana's Okavango Delta, can charge as much as $2,500 per day—per person—during high season. Even simply trekking could cost you $350-$750 per day, accommodation and meals not included. For a typical viewing camp (with less than 20 guests) with accommodation and meals included, expect to pay between $600-$800. Not cheap, indeed.

So what are you paying for? Mainly, it's privacy. Though high-end safari camps will offer designer interiors and fine wine to sip on while animal-spotting, what most of your money will go towards is having a vehicle and guide to yourself, or a few other clients. You're also paying for location—if you want a camp in a prime wildlife viewing concession with exclusive traversing rights, you're going to have to cough up.

All that said, it is possible to go on budget safari. In Namibia's Etosha National Park, costs can run as little as $300 per day—this includes a car, room, park entrance fees, and meals—for two. And you won't be skimping on style, either: Lodgings in the park's five government lodges, which have on-site restaurants, are comfortable and attractive. Nightly rates range from a super-affordable $70, to $200 per person, depending on remoteness and accommodation type (standard room, bungalow, luxury tent or free standing chalet).

As in America's Yellowstone National Park, the concept is self-drive on gravel roads that link water holes where animals congregate, especially during the June to November dry season. The gravel surface is mostly flat and graded for ordinary two wheel drive rental vehicles (approximately $50 per day). The landscape—which ranges from forest scrub to an ethereal, 2,000 square mile salt pan—makes as much a photographic subject as the prolific wildlife, which includes lion, elephant, leopard, and rare black rhino, as well as desert-adapted species such as oryx. (You'll need to stay at least three nights in three different lodges to cover the varied habitats in the 8,600 square mile park!). All cars have to be inside lodge grounds at sunset, but ranger-guided night (and daytime) game drives are offered at a reasonable $50-60 per person.

The last time I was in the park, I was in my car by a waterhole when a cheetah and her two cubs approached to drink. No other vehicles were in sight. The experience: priceless.

_Travel tip: Wherever you choose to safari, try to go just before or after a rainy season to avoid crowds and take advantage of shoulder season.